The Cardinals were the highest-ranked team to play on Butler's home court since No. 5 North Carolina visited in 1992 and beat the Bulldogs, 103-56.

Butler scored the first five points against Louisville and held the lead for all but one possession, a 15-15 tie, until Jared Swopshire's layup in the final seconds gave the Cardinals a 29-28 edge at halftime.

Louisville pushed its lead to six early in the second half, but quickly found itself in a fight again until Smith's jumper and three-point play sparked an 11-2 run inside 12 minutes.

Smith scored nine points during the surge, which made it 51-43 with 9:41 remaining in the game, and Butler was never closer than six the rest of the way.